Communication Tool: PBWorks


Group Members: Katie Bollinger, Kelsey Duerksen

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About PBWorks:

PBworks lets you create a secure online workspace in about 60 seconds. Encourage classroom participation with interactive wiki pages that students can view and edit from any computer. What is a wiki page? Click here or see the Wikis in Plain English Video below.

Share class resources and completed student work with parents. You can even collaborate with fellow educators on courses and curriculum, and manage the work of running your school or district.

Here is an example of a "test" PBWorks wiki page that we created: http://w200kbolling.pbworks.com/


  • Advantages of the tool
PBWorks is efficient because it allows people to communicate quickly online. This is a faster and more efficient way of communicating with a group than e-mail. It is effective because it allows people to communicate and get information in a productive way. It also shows enhancement because it creates this new opportunity for communication and collaboration that they probably couldn't have done the same in any other way.

  • Disadvantages (limitations) of the tool
Wikipedia states that "One limitation of PBworks is that all of the files uploaded to a particular workspace exist in a single namespace. That is, unlike traditional folders within a desktop file system, users cannot upload two different files with the same name and file them in different folders." However, none of the data will get lost.

Here are the PBWorks Terms of Service: http://pbworks.com/content/termsofservice


Application of the tool in your subject area


A simple thing we could do with PBWorks is encourage group projects by allowing students to edit pages and contribute to classroom discussions. An example of such a group project would be for a group to create a PBWorks Wiki page (you can sign up for free here). After one of the group members has created the PBWorks page, all of the other members will need to join the page (see youtube videos below on how to do this). Once everyone knows where the PBWorks wiki page is, they will start collaborating and gathering their information. An example of what would be on the wiki page could be a book report/book analysis. Each student in the group would be assigned different aspects of the book to give their input on. Once one student has posted their information the next student could edit their work and then add their own assigned section to the page. This process would continue until all the information was correct and the page was organized in the correct way.





Helpful Videos about PBWorks:








Key Features from the Videos:
explanation of a wiki
how to sign up for PBWorks
how to edit a page created in PBWorks
how to join a workspace
learn how to comment on a workspace
how to add an image and link things in your PBWorks wiki page

Useful Resources


PBWorks:
http://pbworks.com/
PBWorks for your classroom and school district:
http://pbworks.com/content/edu+overview
PBWorks Tutorial:
http://www.slideshare.net/JenniferW/tutorial-for-pbworks
PBWorks User Manual:
http://usermanual.pbworks.com/

PBWiki Drops the Wiki, Becomes PBWorks:
http://techcrunch.com/2009/04/28/pbwiki-drops-the-wiki-becomes-pbworks/